Ironing machine



Nov. 13, 1934;

J. T. HQME Er A1.

IRONING MACHINE Filed Feb. 25, 1932 4 snags-sheet 1 Nov. 13, 1934. .L 'l'.V Huma Er'AL 1,980,434

manine memup Y filed Feb. 25, 1932 4 sheets-sheet sv y h/// v/////-///4 Nov.13,1934.

J.'F.PHJA6E`E3`A&

InoNING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed gab. 25. 1952 Patented Nov. 13, 1934 UNITED sTATEsi IRONING MACHINE John 'r. nume, chime, ma ns1-olor.. nut.

River Forest, Ill., sssignors to Electric Honsehold Utilities Corporation. Chicago, Ill., a oorporation of Illinois Application February z5, 193s, seria No. 594,9

13Clnlms.

This invention relates to improvements in ironing machines and its purpose is to provide improved mechanism for supporting and effecting relative movement of two ironing elementsv such as a rotatable roll and a relatively movable 4heated shoe. 'I'he principal object of the invention is to provide a simplified device comprising means for supporting the shoe in a novel manner and for actuating the shoe to move it toward and from 1Q the roll. A further object of the invention is to provide an ironing machine in which the shoe has movements substantially in a horizontal plane toward and from the roll, as distinguished from a rocking or tilting movement about a horizontal -1 5` axis which has characterized certain ironing machines heretofore in use. Still another object of the invention is to provide an ironing machine comprising a shoe which is carried by an operating lever having actuating mechanism by which 2Q it is swung about its pivotal point to move the s oe toward or from the roll. A further object the invention is to provide an ironing machine comprising a movable shoe carried by a lever which is actuated by power driven mechanism capable of being manually controlled to cause the shoe to be held in position to engage the clothes being ironed against the roll or ina retracted position spaced from the roll. A further object of the invention is to provide an ironing machine comprising a rotatable roll and a relatively movable shoe in combination with actuating mechanism which is contained within a housing adapted to serve as a support for the roll and shoe and which is so disposed that the housing has relatively small vertical dimensions to permit the mounting thereof upon a supporting table over which the roll and shoe extend. Other objects relate to various features of construction and arrangement which .will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings, in which one embodiment is illustrated. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 shows a rear elevation of an ironing machine embodying the present invention with the supporting legs of the table broken away;

Fig. 2 shows a top plan view .of the ironing machine illustrated in Fig. 1 with lportions there- -of ,broken away, and illustrating by dotted lines the retracted position of the shoe;

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged vertical section through the housing, portions of the actuating mechanism contained therein with portions o! the roll and shoe illustrated in rear elevation;

Fig. 4 shows a vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3:

Fig. 5 shows a horizontalsection taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4: and

Fig. 8 shows a detail vertical section taken ao' on the line 8--8 of Fig. 5.

As illustrated in the drawings, the invention comprises a table 10 supported upon legs 11 and having secured to one end portion thereof a v housing 12 provided with flanges l2l which rest as upon the table and are engaged by connecting bolts 13 passing through the table top. The housing 12 carries a rotatable ironing roll 14 and a relatively movable shoe 15, which are actuated in the manner hereinafter described by mecha- 70 msm contained within the housing. The housing is provided on its vertical end face with an opening which is normally closed by a cover plate 18 having the lower portion thereof formed integrally with the casing l'l of an electric motor by which 7s*- the mechanism is driven. This cover plate 18 has secured thereto, within the housing 12, a frame 18, the body portion of which is spaced from the innerportion of the cover plate by bosses 18 which are engaged by studs 19 having threaded go' engagement with recesses 20 formed in the cover plate. The driving mechanism is carried by the cover plate 18 and frame 18 so that all of these parts. may be detached as a unit from the housing 12 upon removal of the studs 21 which pass g5 through the outer annulariiange of the cover plate and engage the inner marginal iiange 12b of the housing. A gasket 22 is interposed between these flanges of the cover plate and housing in order to provide an oil-tight connection. thus per- 90 mittins lubricating oil to be contained within the housing for lubricating the various parts of the actuating mechanism.

The casing 17 of the electric motor is provided with a field winding 24 and an armature 25 which is rotatable within the field winding on the motor shaft 26. This shalt is journaled at its ends in bearings carried by the motor casing 17, the bearing at the inner end of the vcasing being formed in the end wall of the motor casing which is provided with a hub 27 having secured therein a bushing 28 in which the shaft 28 is journaled. This shalt 26 has a pinion 29 secured to the inner end thereof to mesh with a relatively large gear 30 which is located upwardly therefrom. This gear 30 is secured upon a countershaft 31 which is journaled in bearings 32 and 33l carried by the motor casing and the frame 18, respectively. A, pinion 34 is secured on the shaft 31 adjacent the bearing 32 and this pinion meshes with a 110 loo'` los 'I relatively large/gear 35 which adapted to revolve 'pon another shaft 36 which has its outer end ,1 urn'aled in a bearing hub 37 formed integrally and proj ectng inwardly from the cover plate 6 16, while the inner end thereof is `iournaled in a bearing hub 38 which is formed integrally with'jthe frame 18. 'I'he gear 35 serves as a driving gear for effecting the rotation of the roll and also for actuating the shoe.

yThe "connections from the gear 35 to the rol 14 are made through a relatively large pinion 40 which is formed integrally therewith or secured thereto, so that it revolvesyupon the shaft 36. This pinion 40 mesheswith a gear 41, shown l 'particularly-in Fig. 5, which is fixed upon the end of a roll driving shaft 42. This shaft is journaled in a bearing 43 which is formed integrally with f the frame 18 and it is journaled at its inner end in a bushing 44 which is mounted in an aperture formed within a bearing blockl 45 formed integrally with the inner wall of the housing 12. 'lhis bearing block'has secured therein a stationary hollow axle 46 adapted to support the roll 14 which comprises a cylindrical metal shell 48 secured at its 'ends to radially extending disks 49,

the inner one of which is shown in Fig. 5. The inner disk .'49 is Asecured through a ring 50 and studs 51 to an annular gear 52 which is mounted to revolve upon abushing 52* secured to the axle i so; l4e adjacent .the bearing blook 45,. 'rms gear 52 meshes with-a' pinion 53 secured to or formed integrally with the inner end of thevroll driving shaft 42 so that when the train of mechanism from the driving motor to the shaft 42 is in operation, 4the roll 14 is rotated. The metallic shell gtsct with the clothes being ironedv and between this inner metal face 15* of the shoe and the rear wall l5" thereof. there are located the usual electric heating elements, adapted to be connected to a som-ce of current supply, by which the shoe is Wleated 4during the ironing operation. I'his shoe 1B is-supported by means of a lever 60 having a part '60',l which is flattened in a horizontal plane toiltbetween two horizontal bearing hubsl which are formed as a part of a bearing bracket 61 se- 563 cured tothe casing 12 by studs 62, as shown particularly in Figs. land 2. The lever is pivotally connected to' the hub 61 by a vertical pin 63 which is art-its lower'end by a nut 64. 'Ihe part 60* ofthis lever -isilattened in a vertical plane y i at its outer vend and is welded or otherwise secured tothe part .60b of the lever which is in the form of a ilatleaf spring occupying a vertical plane. At its outer end, this spring portion 60h of the lever is secured to a casting 60 which terminates in a hub portion adapted tobe received between two ears 65` which project outwardly in horizontal planes from a bracket 65 which is secured in a central positiomhorlzontally and vertically. to the nearsslde of the shoe l5. The shoe is rthus supported by the lever 60 andmaybe moveii'toward and fromthe roll by swinging theV lever horizontally about the pivot pin 63. Due tothe pivotal connection of the shoe with the outer end of the iovflever wine shoe 1s adapted to-adiust itself to a cotter pin75. The ball 72 engages a spherical the position of the roll and the clothes thereon when engagement occurs. l

l The movement of the shoe 15 toward and from the roll 14 is effected by an eccentric disk 66 which is'secured on the shaft 36 adjacent to the gear 35. 'I'his eccentric is Vsurrounded by an eccentric strap 67, shown particularly in Figs. 5 and 6, which has an arm 67* formed integrally therewith and whichis capable of being ,tightened tov grip the eccentric with theV desired degree of fric- L tion, b ymeans of astud 68having a coil spring 69 interposed between the head ofthe stud and the adjacent ear of the. strap. The arm67'of this f eccentric strap is provided at its endwith 'a pairr of anges 70 between which there is -tted a stem 71 having a spherical vball 72 formed on the outer end thereof.' A pivotalconnection is established vbetween the arm 67* and the stem 71 by a headed pin 73 which passes through thesemembers and is engaged at its other end by a\ washer 74 and socket 76 which is formed partly in lthe head 60i of the lever 60 and partly in the retaining plate 77 which is secured tothe part 60d by means of studs 78. The retaining plate 77 has an enlarged 100 opening 77"A to accommodate-the movement of' the stemfflll'when it oscillates't about kthe pivot pin 73 in response tothe movement of the ball and' socket connection between'the stem and the shoe operating lever. It will be apparent -that when 105 the shaft'36 is rotated, the corresponding rotation of the eccentric 66 willmove the lever l60 through the connectionsiust described so that the shoe l5 will be moved-toward or from the roll.

The shaft 36 is adapted to be rotated to effect no the. movement of the shoe through connections.. which are detachably made between the shaft and the previously described pinion 40 which rotates at all times when the driving motorl is in operation. For this purpose, the pinion 40 is 11k provided on its lateral face with a series of 'clutch teeth 40* which are adaptedA to interlock with similar clutch teeth formed on a clutch member 80 which is splindupon the enlarged part 36e of the shaft. thispart being providedl mi) with longitudinalteeth whichfare engaged hyin wardly extending projections of thel clutch mein-- ber to form a driving connection between the clutch member andthe shaft\w hilel permitting ax1o1 movement` or the oiutohmoinberyto bring the 125 j f clutch teeth 80 into engagementwith the clutch teeth/40". In .additlo'to kits bearing directly on' the marisa, the oiuton member so' a provided with" j t l a'tubular extension 80lwhich isy s'iidablymount;`

ed upon the hub membeiysvfproviousiy described:

A coil spring 8l isrnountedon extension 80" l betweenan annular shoulder on the clutch mem-L ber and the innerjsurface ofthe cover plate 16l i, v

so that the: spring normally tends to'move'the o.

two sets of clutch teeth `uw engagement. w1 ms each Othel'- The clutchmemberis provided with two diametrically opposedrecessestb either of which is adapted to 'be engaged by the extremity 82 of a shifter bal' 82 which ls'plvotally'cnhected at its other endk through a pin `83 withl a 140 crank ann 84 secured on a' shaft85 by' meansof. a set-screw86. The shaft 85.is y.iournaled in Yan enlarged bearing hubv 88 which extends inward-` ly from the inner side of the cover plate i6and the other end of this shaft is enlarged. as shown at 85 and .iournaledl in.another bearing hub 89-l carried by the plate 1 8.;.The projecting end' ofl the shaft 85 has a crank handle 90 securedv there-' y on for engagement bythe hand 'of the operator.v f

ber 80. The shifter bar 82 slides between a plate 91 which forms a part of the frame 18 and another small plate 92 which is spaced outwardly from the p1ate'591 and secured thereto by screws 93. The plate 92 has a slot 92 therein which is engaged by a pin 94 secured to the face of the shifter bar 82. A coil spring 95 is connected between one of the screws 93 and the pivot pin 83 of the crank arm 84 so that this spring normally tends to maintain the shifter bar in engagement with the clutch member and to cause the end 82* of the shifter bar to engage one of the recesses 80 when that recess is in the proper position. A flat leaf spring 97 is secured to the inner side of the shifter bar 82 and bears against the plate 91 so that it maintains the end 82* Vof the shifter bar in engagement with the cam surface 98 formed on the face of the groove of the clutch member in which the end of the shifter bar is located. The configuration of the annular cam face 98 is such that when the shifter bar 82 is in positionto engage either of the recesses 80 of the clutch member, the clutch member is withdrawn to disengag: its teeth 80* from' theteeth 40"L of the driving pinion, and thejshifter bar may be engaged with a recess 80 to hold the shaft 36 and eccentric 66 against rotation. When the shifter bar is withdrawn from either recess 80, the adjacent projection 98 of the cam face slips out of engagement with the shifter bar and the clutch member 80 is moved inwardly under the influence of the spring .81 to bring the teeth 40 and.80 into engagement with each other. This then results in the rotation of the shaft 86 which is driven from the pinion 40 through the clutch member and, as a result, the eccentric 66 is rotated and the lever .is turned about its pivot to move the shoe 15 in one direction, toward or from the roll -14. Assuming that it is moved toward the roll, the

motion continues until the shoe reaches the proper ironing position with respect to the roll, when the clutch teeth 40'L and 80'l are automatically disengaged by the coaction of the end of the shifter bar with the cam surface 98, whereupon the, spring 95 forces theend 82 of the shifter bar into engagement with one of the recesses to hold the clutch member, shaft and eccentric in that position so that the shoe is prevented from moving away from the rolll during the ironing operation. When the operator wishes to move the shoe away fromythe roll, the handle Qistumed to withdrawA theV shifter bar 82'from`the recess 80, whereupon 'l the clutch member .80 is moved by the spring 81 into engagement with the clutch teeth of the pinion 40, so that the shaft 36 then makes another half revolution during which the eccentric l shifter bar and then the. spring again operates to'mo've the shifter bar into engagement with the other recess 80 so that the shoe 15 is held in a position spaced from the roll- It will be apparent from the foregoing description that when the shoe has been moved into contact with the roll and also when the shoeha's been moved outwardly to its extreme position spaced vfrom the roll, the shifter bar 82 automatically engages one of the recesses 80 to hold the clutch.

member 80 against rotation, thereby holding the gear 40 and the eccentric 6 6 against'rotation' with the ironing shoe 15 in either of these extreme positions.

It will be apparent that scribed above is one which permits a readyand convenient operation of the shoe and roll by the driving mechanism and that the construction and the construction dearrangement of this mechanismv is such that it occupies a relatively small spaceand has a relatively small vertical dimension so that it maybe contained within a housing of such size that it is adapted to be mounted directly upon the top of the table 10 which thus serves as a support for the clothes being ironed. i l

Although one form of theinvention has been shown and described by way of illustration, it will be understood that it may be constructed in variwithin the scope .of the ous other forms coming appended claims.

We claim:

1. The combination in an ironing machine, of

a rotatable ironing roll, a relatively movable shoe extending substantially throughout the lengthof said roll, means for actuating said roll, and means for swinging said shoe toward said roll in a horizontal plane containing the axis of rotation of L said roll. I

2. The combination in an ironing machine, of

. saidlever tornove said shoe toward and from said 4.The combination in anv ironing machine, of a rotatahlei-ironing roll, an ironing shoe, means for rotating said roll, a single lever pivotally supported adjacent one end of said roll and having 'a resilient part -at one end `thereof connected to said shoe', said lever extending substantially parallelto said roll, and power actuated means` connected to the other end of 'said lever for mov-y ing ityabout its pivot to effect relative movement of said shoe with respect to saidy roll. Y

5..The combinationin an ironing-machine, of

anfironingroli rotatable about a horizontal axis, n

an ironing shoe, means for rotating" said roll, a

necting one end of said lever to said Vshoe whereby -lever pivotally supported adjacent one end of said Y roll to move about a vertical axis, means for'con- 1-30' said shoe issupported on said lever, and means connected tothe other end of said lever for actu-` ating said lever to move said vshoe toward and from said roll.

6. The combination in an ironing machine, of

an ironing roll rotatableabout a horizontal axis,

its

an ironing shoe, means'for rotating said roll, a

levery pivotally supported adjacent one end of said rolland having a resilient arm extending on the rear side of said shoe, means for. connecting said resilient arm to said shoe, and operating -mechanism connected to the other end of'said lever for actuating said lever to move said shoe Itoward and from said roll. A y

7. vThe combination in an ironing machine, of a rotatable ironing roll, an ironing shoe.. means for rotating said roll, a lever pivoted at an intermediate point and having a resilient arm extendingl lengthwise of and connected to said shoe.

and means connected to the other end of said lever for eiiecting movement of said shoe toward and from said roll.

8. The combination in an ironing machine, of a rotatable ironing roll, an ironing shoe, means for rotating said roll, a single lever pivoted at an intermediate point and having an arm extending lengthwise of and connected to and supporting said shoe, and means comprising an eccentric connected-to the other end of said lever for effectingv movementof said shoe with respect to said roll.

9. 'I'he combination in ari ironing machine, of a housing, an ironing roll supported by and extending longitudinally from said housing, a lever pivotally supported on said housing and extending aldngside said roll, a shoe supported by said lever for cooperation with said roli, and

- driving mechanism located in said housing for rov by the projecting end of said lever, an eccentriclocated in, said housing and connected to said first named end of said lever, and driving mechanism located in said housing for rotating said roll and actuating said eccentric.

11. The combination in an ironing machin of a housing, an ironing roll supported by and extending longitudinally from said housing, a lever pivotally supported on said housing with one end located in said housing and the other end projecting therefrom, an ironing shoe supported by the projecting end of said lever, an eccentric located in said housing and connected to said ilrst named end of said lever, driving mechanism located in said housing for rotating said roll and actuating said eccentric, an'd means for holding said eccentric in any one of a plurality of posisaid lever for cooperation with said roll, and

means for lestablishing a driving connection between said eccentric and said driving mechanism.

13. The combination in an ironing machine, of a housing, an ironing roll supported by said housing and projecting longitudinally therefrom, driving mechanism in said housing for rotating said roll, an eccentric adapted to be actuated by said driving mechanism, a lever pivotally sup-- ported at an intermediate point on said housing with one end thereof connected to said eccentric,`

an ironing shoe supported by the other end of said lever for cooperation with said roll, means including a clutch for establishing a driving connection between said mechanism and said eccentric, and means for automatically disengaging said clutch and holding said eccentric against rotation when said shoe is in either of two extreme positions.

JOHN T. HUME.

HAROLD In HART. 

